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New properties of rotating superfluids discovered in helium nanodroplets

2014-08-21
Liquid helium, when cooled down nearly to absolute zero, exhibits unusual properties that scientists have struggled to understand: it creeps up walls and flows freely through impossibly small channels, completely lacking viscosity. It becomes a new state of matter – a "superfluid." Now, a large, international team of researchers led by scientists at USC, Stanford and Berkeley has used X-rays from a free-electron laser to peer inside individual droplets of liquid helium, exploring whether this liquid helium retains its superfluid characteristics even at microscopic scales ...

Severe drought is causing the western US to rise

2014-08-21
The severe drought gripping the western United States in recent years is changing the landscape well beyond localized effects of water restrictions and browning lawns. Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have now discovered that the growing, broad-scale loss of water is causing the entire western U.S. to rise up like an uncoiled spring. Investigating ground positioning data from GPS stations throughout the west, Scripps researchers Adrian Borsa, Duncan Agnew, and Dan Cayan found that the water shortage is causing an "uplift" effect up to ...

X-ray laser probes tiny quantum tornadoes in superfluid droplets

X-ray laser probes tiny quantum tornadoes in superfluid droplets
2014-08-21
An experiment at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory revealed a well-organized 3-D grid of quantum "tornadoes" inside microscopic droplets of supercooled liquid helium – the first time this formation has been seen at such a tiny scale. The findings by an international research team provide new insight on the strange nanoscale traits of a so-called "superfluid" state of liquid helium. When chilled to extremes, liquid helium behaves according to the rules of quantum mechanics that apply to matter at the smallest scales and defy the laws of classical ...

Researchers map quantum vortices inside superfluid helium nanodroplets

Researchers map quantum vortices inside superfluid helium nanodroplets
2014-08-21
Scientists have, for the first time, characterized so-called quantum vortices that swirl within tiny droplets of liquid helium. The research, led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the University of Southern California, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, confirms that helium nanodroplets are in fact the smallest possible superfluidic objects and opens new avenues to study quantum rotation. "The observation of quantum vortices is one of the most clear and unique demonstrations of the quantum properties ...

Sunlight, not microbes, key to CO2 in Arctic

Sunlight, not microbes, key to CO2 in Arctic
2014-08-21
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The vast reservoir of carbon stored in Arctic permafrost is gradually being converted to carbon dioxide (CO2) after entering the freshwater system in a process thought to be controlled largely by microbial activity. However, a new study – funded by the National Science Foundation and published this week in the journal Science – concludes that sunlight and not bacteria is the key to triggering the production of CO2 from material released by Arctic soils. The finding is particularly important, scientists say, because climate change could affect when ...

A novel 'man and machine' decision support system makes malaria diagnostics more effective

A novel man and machine decision support system makes malaria diagnostics more effective
2014-08-21
A Finnish-Swedish research group at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, and Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, has developed a novel "man and machine" decision support system for diagnosing malaria infection. This innovative diagnostic aid was described in PLOS One scientific journal today, 21 August. The method is based on computer vision algorithms similar to those used in facial recognition systems combined with visualization of only the diagnostically most relevant areas. Tablet computers can be utilized in viewing the images. In ...

Scientists observe quantum vortices in cold helium droplets

2014-08-21
An international research team including DESY scientists has observed tiny quantum vortices in cold droplets of liquid helium. The team reports in the journal Science that the exotic vortices arrange themselves as densely packed lattices inside the nanodroplets. It is the first time that the quantum vortices, which have already been observed in larger samples of what is known as superfluid helium, have been detected in nanodroplets. "The experiment has exceeded our best expectations," says Andrey Vilesov of the University of Southern California, one of the experiment's ...

Hot-spring bacteria reveal ability to use far-red light for photosynthesis

Hot-spring bacteria reveal ability to use far-red light for photosynthesis
2014-08-21
Bacteria growing in near darkness use a previously unknown process for harvesting energy and producing oxygen from sunlight, a research team led by a Penn State University scientist has discovered. The discovery lays the foundation for further research aimed at improving plant growth, harvesting energy from the Sun, and understanding dense blooms like those now occurring on Lake Erie and other lakes worldwide. A paper describing the discovery will be published in the Science Express edition of the journal Science on 21 August 2014. "We have shown that some cyanobacteria, ...

New DNA test for diagnosing diseases linked to childhood blindness

2014-08-21
SAN FRANCISCO – Aug. 21, 2014 – Researchers in the United Kingdom have demonstrated that advanced DNA testing for congenital cataracts can quickly and accurately diagnose a number of rare diseases marked by childhood blindness, according to a study published online today in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Using a single test, doctors were able to tailor care specifically to a child's condition based on their mutations reducing the time and money spent on diagnosis and enabling earlier treatment and genetic counseling. Each year, ...

USC Eye Institute study shows Native American ancestry a risk factor for eye disease

2014-08-21
LOS ANGELES — New research led by the University of Southern California (USC) Eye Institute, part of Keck Medicine of USC, shows for the first time that Native American ancestry is a significant risk factor for vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy among Latinos with Type 2 diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults in the United States, affecting more than 4 million Americans age 40 and older. The research was published online today in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, the peer-reviewed academic journal of The ...

Novel recycling methods: The fluorescent fingerprint of plastics

2014-08-21
Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have developed a new process which will greatly simplify the process of sorting plastics in recycling plants. The method enables automated identification of polymers, facilitating rapid separation of plastics for re-use. A team of researchers led by Professor Heinz Langhals of LMU's Department of Chemistry has taken a significant step which promises to markedly expedite the recycling of plastic waste. They have developed a technique which provides for automated recognition of their polymer constituents, thus ...

CHEST releases new expert guidance in care of the critically ill and injured

2014-08-21
The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) announces the immediate release of Care of the Critically Ill and Injured During Pandemics and Disasters: CHEST Consensus Statement today in the Online First section of the journal CHEST while the global health-care community cares for patients with the Ebola virus. The consensus statement aims to guide ethical decision-making, coordination of care, resource conservation, and research in crises. The statement was developed by over 100 clinicians and experts representing a broad variety and scope of clinical fields from more ...

Laser device may end pin pricks, improve quality of life for diabetics

Laser device may end pin pricks, improve quality of life for diabetics
2014-08-21
Princeton University researchers have developed a way to use a laser to measure people's blood sugar, and, with more work to shrink the laser system to a portable size, the technique could allow diabetics to check their condition without pricking themselves to draw blood. "We are working hard to turn engineering solutions into useful tools for people to use in their daily lives," said Claire Gmachl, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering and the project's senior researcher. "With this work we hope to improve the lives of many diabetes sufferers who depend ...

Objectification in romantic relationships related to sexual pressure and coercion

2014-08-21
To sexually objectify a woman is to focus on her body in terms of how it can provide sexual pleasure rather than viewing her as a complete human being with thoughts and feelings. While objectification has long been considered a problem in the media, how does it affect individual romantic relationships? New research published in Psychology of Women Quarterly, a SAGE journal, finds that more objectification of a female partner's body is related to higher incidents of sexual pressure and coercion. Researchers Laura R. Ramsey and Tiffany Hoyt surveyed 119 males and 162 females ...

Primary care physicians can be critical resource for abused women in rural areas

2014-08-21
Many primary care physicians in rural communities do not routinely screen women for intimate partner violence (IPV), according to Penn State medical and public health researchers. Rural women who are exposed to such violence have limited resources if they seek help. "Rural health care providers are uniquely positioned to help women," said Jennifer S. McCall-Hosenfeld, a primary care physician and assistant professor of medicine and public health sciences, Penn State College of Medicine. "However, in rural settings, it might be even more important for physicians to step ...

Viruses take down massive algal blooms, with big implications for climate

Viruses take down massive algal blooms, with big implications for climate
2014-08-21
Algae might seem easy to ignore, but they are the ultimate source of all organic matter that marine animals depend upon. Humans are increasingly dependent on algae, too, to suck up climate-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sink it to the bottom of the ocean. Now, by using a combination of satellite imagery and laboratory experiments, researchers have evidence showing that viruses infecting those algae are driving the life-and-death dynamics of the algae's blooms, even when all else stays essentially the same, and this has important implications for our climate. According ...

Biologists reprogram skin cells to mimic rare disease

Biologists reprogram skin cells to mimic rare disease
2014-08-21
Johns Hopkins stem cell biologists have found a way to reprogram a patient's skin cells into cells that mimic and display many biological features of a rare genetic disorder called familial dysautonomia. The process requires growing the skin cells in a bath of proteins and chemical additives while turning on a gene to produce neural crest cells, which give rise to several adult cell types. The researchers say their work substantially expedites the creation of neural crest cells from any patient with a neural crest-related disorder, a tool that lets physicians and scientists ...

Sequence of rare kidney cancer reveals unique alterations involving telomerase

2014-08-21
HOUSTON – (Aug. 21, 2014) – An international scientific collaboration led by Baylor College of Medicine has revealed clues about genetic alterations that may contribute to a rare form of kidney cancer, providing new insights not only into this rare cancer but other types as well. The collaboration, a project of the National Institutes of Health's Cancer Genome Atlas initiative, completed the sequence of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and published the results today in the journal Cancer Cell. "The Cancer Genome Atlas is a federally funded national effort that has ...

Some anti-inflammatory drugs affect more than their targets

Some anti-inflammatory drugs affect more than their targets
2014-08-21
Researchers have discovered that three commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, alter the activity of enzymes within cell membranes. Their finding suggests that, if taken at higher-than-approved doses and/or for long periods of time, these prescription-level NSAIDs and other drugs that affect the membrane may produce wide-ranging and unwanted side effects. More positively, the researchers say, their work provides the basis for a test that drug developers can use to predict and perhaps avoid these side effects in new medicines they make. A summary ...

Children with autism have extra synapses in brain

Children with autism have extra synapses in brain
2014-08-21
NEW YORK, NY (August 21, 2014) — Children and adolescents with autism have a surplus of synapses in the brain, and this excess is due to a slowdown in a normal brain "pruning" process during development, according to a study by neuroscientists at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). Because synapses are the points where neurons connect and communicate with each other, the excessive synapses may have profound effects on how the brain functions. The study was published in the August 21 online issue of the journal Neuron. A drug that restores normal synaptic pruning ...

Research explains how cellular guardians of the intestine develop

2014-08-21
Even the most careful chosen meal can contain surprises. To defend against infectious microbes, viruses or other potential hazards that find their way to the intestines, a dedicated contingent of immune cells keeps watch within the thin layer of tissue that divides the contents of the gut from the body itself. New research at Rockefeller University sheds light on the development of a unique class of immune cells known as intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) that reside in this critical interface. The findings, published August 21 in Immunity, may help lead to new insights ...

Alternate mechanism of species formation picks up support, thanks to a South American ant

Alternate mechanism of species formation picks up support, thanks to a South American ant
2014-08-21
A newly-discovered species of ant supports a controversial theory of species formation. The ant, only found in a single patch of eucalyptus trees on the São Paulo State University campus in Brazil, branched off from its original species while living in the same colony, something thought rare in current models of evolutionary development. “Most new species come about in geographic isolation,” said Christian Rabeling, assistant professor of biology at the University of Rochester. “We now have evidence that speciation can take place within a single colony.” The findings ...

Mouse model for epilepsy, Alzheimer's gives window into the working brain

2014-08-21
(SALT LAKE CITY)—University of Utah scientists have developed a genetically engineered line of mice that is expected to open the door to new research on epilepsy, Alzheimer's and other diseases. The mice carry a protein marker, which changes in degree of fluorescence in response to different calcium levels. This will allow many cell types, including cells called astrocytes and microglia, to be studied in a new way. "This is opening up the possibility to decipher how the brain works," said Petr Tvrdik, Ph.D., a research fellow in human genetics and a senior author ...

Hacking Gmail with 92 percent success

Hacking Gmail with 92 percent success
2014-08-21
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A team of researchers, including an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering, have identified a weakness believed to exist in Android, Windows and iOS mobile operating systems that could be used to obtain personal information from unsuspecting users. They demonstrated the hack in an Android phone. The researchers tested the method and found it was successful between 82 percent and 92 percent of the time on six of the seven popular apps they tested. Among the apps they easily hacked were Gmail, CHASE ...

Researchers identify potential risk factors for urinary tract infections in young girls

2014-08-21
Winston-Salem, N.C. – August, 21, 2014 – Young girls with an intense, red, itchy rash on their outer genital organs may be at increased risk of developing urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to new research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The treatment may be as simple as better hygiene and avoiding potential irritants such as bubble baths and swimming pools. "Vulvitis is a common condition affecting women and girls of all ages," said senior author Steve J. Hodges, M.D., associate professor of urology at Wake Forest Baptist. "We found that girls with ...
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